Daniel 5 – Belshazzar's feast: when Babylon is weighed and judged

A huge celebration is taking place in the palace of Babylon.

Belshazzar has invited a thousand nobles. The wine flows, music accompanies the banquet, and everything seems to show that the king still possesses extraordinary power.

But Belshazzar makes a serious mistake.

He has the sacred vessels once taken from the Temple in Jerusalem brought in. He and his guests drink from them while praising their gods.

Suddenly, a hand appears.

It writes on the wall:

Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin.

The celebration stops.

No one understands the message.

Daniel is finally summoned.

His interpretation is terrifying: the days of the kingdom of Babylon are numbered, Belshazzar has been weighed and found wanting, and his kingdom will be given to the Medes and the Persians.

That very night, Belshazzar is killed.

Belshazzar Really Existed

For a long time, Belshazzar posed a problem for historians.

Ancient king lists indicated that the last official king of Babylon was Nabonidus, not Belshazzar.

But cuneiform texts have confirmed the existence of Belshazzar.

He was the son of Nabonidus and held important responsibilities in Babylon.

This situation also helps explain a surprising detail in the chapter.

Belshazzar promises that whoever explains the inscription will become “the third ruler in the kingdom”.

Why only third?

One possible explanation is quite simple:

Nabonidus held the first position;

Belshazzar held the second position;

the third position was therefore one of the highest offices Belshazzar could offer.

It is 539 BC.

The Babylonian Empire is in trouble.

Cyrus's armies are advancing, and Babylon's rule is nearing its end.

Yet inside the palace, the atmosphere is completely different.

Belshazzar holds a huge banquet for a thousand nobles.

People eat.

They drink.

They celebrate.

Everything gives the impression that Babylon is still powerful and secure.

But appearances are deceptive.

While the palace celebrates, the history of the Babylonian Empire is about to come to an end.

During the banquet, Belshazzar decides to have some very special objects brought in.

They are the gold and silver vessels once taken from the Temple in Jerusalem.

These objects had been consecrated to the service of God.

Belshazzar now turns them into ordinary drinking cups for his banquet.

But he goes even further.

The king, his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drink from these vessels while praising their gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

So this is not simply a celebration that goes too far.

It is a deliberate desecration.

Belshazzar uses what had been consecrated to the God of Israel to honor his own idols.

And it is precisely at that moment that something extraordinary happens.

Suddenly, the fingers of a hand appear.

They begin writing on the wall of the palace.

Imagine the scene.

Just seconds earlier, Belshazzar was surrounded by a thousand people.

He was the king.

Everyone obeyed him.

Now he looks at a few words on a wall and is terrified.

His face changes.

His thoughts trouble him.

His knees knock together.

All the wise men of Babylon are summoned.

The king promises purple clothing, a gold chain, and the third-highest position in the kingdom to whoever can explain the inscription.

But no one can do it.

All the wisdom of Babylon proves powerless before a few words.

An important woman in the royal family hears about the situation.

She recalls that in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, there was a man who could explain dreams and mysteries.

That man is Daniel.

A great deal of time has passed since the beginning of the book.

Daniel is no longer the young boy who arrived in Babylon after the conquest of Jerusalem.

He now belongs to an older generation.

Belshazzar does not even seem to know him very well.

But when everyone else fails, he is remembered.

Daniel is summoned before the king.

Belshazzar promises him great rewards if he can explain the inscription.

But Daniel replies:

“Keep your gifts for yourself, and give your rewards to someone else.”

Daniel will explain the message.

But he will not do it to obtain gold, clothing, or an important position.

Before explaining the words written on the wall, he reminds Belshazzar of the story of Nebuchadnezzar.

Nebuchadnezzar had been extremely powerful.

But his pride had led to his humiliation.

He had eventually been forced to acknowledge that God rules over human kingdoms.

Then Daniel says something especially serious to Belshazzar:

“You knew all these things.”

Belshazzar therefore knew the story.

He had received a warning.

But he had learned nothing from it.

Daniel can now explain the mysterious words.

Mene - Numbered

“God has numbered your reign and brought it to an end.”

Belshazzar still thinks he has time.

But his reign has come to an end.

Tekel - Weighed

“You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.”

This time, it is no longer only the kingdom that is being evaluated.

It is Belshazzar himself.

He has a palace.

Gold.

A huge celebration.

Nobles.

Power.

But none of this is enough in God's balance.

Peres - Divided

“Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.”

The verdict is now complete:

the reign is numbered;

the king is weighed;

the kingdom is divided.

Babylon Was Not Destroyed That Night

It is often said:

“Babylon falls in 539 BC.”

But this does not mean that the entire city was destroyed.

Babylon continued to exist under Persian rule.

What disappeared in 539 BC was the Neo-Babylonian Empire as an independent power.

Babylon changes rulers.

This distinction fits well with the message announced to Belshazzar:

his kingdom will be given to another power.

Nevertheless, Belshazzar has the promised rewards given to Daniel.

The scene is almost strange.

The king continues to distribute honors in a kingdom he is about to lose.

Then Daniel 5 ends abruptly:

“That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was killed.”

The banquet is over.

Belshazzar's power disappears.

The Babylonian Empire has reached its end.

This night also has special significance within the book of Daniel as a whole.

In chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar had seen an enormous statue.

Its head was made of gold.

Daniel had explained to the king:

“You are the head of gold.”

But he had immediately added that another kingdom would come after him.

Daniel 5 shows the moment when this first great transition takes place.

Babylon's rule comes to an end.

The kingdom passes to the Medes and the Persians.

Later, Daniel 8 will represent this power as a ram with two horns.

The progression then becomes:

Babylon → Medes and Persians → Greece.

What had been announced in the dream of the statue begins to become a reality in history.

Belshazzar probably thought he was still powerful.

He had a palace.

Wealth.

Thousands of people around him.

He could hold an enormous celebration.

Yet he did not realize that his kingdom was about to disappear.

Daniel 5 thus reminds us that appearances can be deceptive.

We can feel as though we have everything under control and yet be completely mistaken.

The chapter also raises another question.

Belshazzar knew the story of Nebuchadnezzar.

He knew what had happened to a man who had become proud.

But he had learned nothing from it.

So knowing a story is not enough.

We must also be willing to learn from it.

This can lead to a few simple questions:

Do I learn from my mistakes and from the mistakes of others?

Do I respect what is sacred?

Does success make me more humble or more proud?

Do I believe that my abilities are enough to control everything?

1. Belshazzar really existed.He was the son of Nabonidus and exercised considerable authority in Babylon.

2. The main offense at the banquet is the desecration of the Temple vessels.
Belshazzar uses them to praise his gods.

3. Mene means “numbered.”The kingdom's time has come to an end.

4. Tekel means “weighed.”
Belshazzar is evaluated and found wanting.

5. Peres announces the division of the kingdom.Rule passes to the Medes and the Persians.

6. Babylon falls in 539 BC, but the city is not destroyed at that time.It is its political independence that comes to an end.

7. Daniel 5 continues the prophecy of Daniel 2.After the Babylonian head of gold comes another power.

8. Knowing a warning brings responsibility.
Belshazzar knew the story of Nebuchadnezzar, but he had learned nothing from it.

9. Appearances do not always tell the truth.While the palace celebrates its power, the kingdom has already reached its end.

10. God remains sovereign over history.Even the most powerful empires have their limits.

This Teen version presents the essential points of Daniel 5.

The educational version explores Belshazzar's feast, the mysterious inscription, and the fall of Babylon in greater depth.

The academic version examines Belshazzar and Nabonidus in greater detail, the sources concerning the conquest of Babylon, the identity of the queen, the Aramaic of Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin, the question of Darius the Mede, and the connections between Daniel 2, Daniel 5, and Daniel 8.